Monday 27 October 2008 20.01 EDT
First published on Monday 27 October 2008 20.01 EDT

Barack Obama attempted an act of political alchemy yesterday, combining his campaign's early passion with the gritty reality of America's economic crisis to build a winning argument to send him to the White House.

The Obama camp had billed yesterday's speech as the Democrats' closing argument to the American people, 21 months after he began his run for the White House. He chose to deliver it in Ohio, the state which more than any other will decide whether Obama or John McCain wins the White House, one week from today.

The speech was more of a summing up than a new line of persuasion as the Democrat tried to rally his supporters even while he moved to contain their expectations of change if he wins the White House.

"In one week, in one week, after decades of broken politics in Washington, eight years of failed policies from George Bush and 21 months of a campaign that has taken us from the rocky coast of Maine to the sunshine of California, we are one week from change in America," Obama told the crowd. But he went on to warn: "It won't be easy, Ohio. It won't be quick."

The candidate, who stepped off the stage in Canton yesterday to his signature tune of "signed, sealed, delivered" was visibly greyer than the Obama who racked up his first victory in the Iowa caucus in early January.

The signature appeal for hope and change which had so moved the crowds was weighed down by the economic crisis that has overwhelmed the election and contributed mightily to Obama's lead over McCain in battleground states.

Obama got his wildest cheers when he promised to bring green jobs to Ohio and to scrap taxes for elderly people living on less than $50,000. But again he warned that his ambitious plans might be hostage to economic turmoil. "I won't stand here and pretend that any of this will be easy - especially now," he said. "The cost of this economic crisis, and the cost of the war in Iraq, means that Washington will have to tighten its belt and put off spending on things we can afford to do without.

"On this, there is no other choice."

Yesterday's meeting was in some ways a celebration of Obama's journey, with the Democrat reminding supporters of the improbable nature of his candidacy.

It was also an indictment of McCain, who Obama cast as a clone of George Bush. "Senator McCain still has not been able to tell the American people a single major thing he'd do differently from George Bush when it comes to the economy," he said. "Senator McCain says that we can't spend the next four years waiting for our luck to change, but you understand that the biggest gamble we can take is embracing the same old Bush-McCain policies that have failed us for the last eight years.

Obama will take other opportunities to try to seal the deal with American voters this week. Tomorrow, he has booked a half-hour slot on national networks for a primetime address. The slot, just as Americans tune in to Game Six of the World Series, is the most ambitious ad spend ever, and will cost the campaign more than $1m a network.

There will be further razzmatazz tomorrow when Obama campaigns with Bill Clinton in Orlando, Florida.

But his appearance yesterday, before fewer than 5,000 supporters in this town, was a reminder that Obama still has a slog ahead of him in Ohio. No Democrat has won the White House without Ohio since John Kennedy in 1960, and the state is not natural terrain for Obama.

While he has surged ahead of McCain in states that usually go Republican such as Virginia and Colorado, it has been a tougher, slower sell in Ohio - as even his most ardent supporters acknowledge.

"At times, it seems neck and neck to me," said Katy George. Her friend, Peggy Kelly, a chef at a local restaurant, chimed in: "There are a lot of stubborn Republicans in the lower part of the state."

But the campaign is feeling increasingly confident, buoyed by the heavy turnout in early voting, which started a week ago.

Registered Democrats have swamped Republicans. In Cleveland, long lines of African American voters waited for more than two hours to cast their ballots, passing the time by singing the civil rights-era song Eyes on the Prize.

The rush had the campaign scrambling yesterday to find marching bands to entertain waiting voters on election day.

Charlie Buhacker breaks eye contact and looks away when he says that he voted for George Bush over John Kerry in 2004. This time Buhacker was an early supporter of Obama. He has been working phone banks for Obama six nights a week for the last three months. He reckons he has logged 1,600 calls.

It was slow going at first, he admits. People were suspicious of Obama and cynical about his message of hope. Some were outright racist. "But that died down the last couple of weeks," he said. "People realised it doesn't make a difference."

Polls show the race in Ohio, a key swing state with 20 electoral votes, favouring Obama. Most put him about 10 points ahead of McCain, but some indicate a much smaller advantage. Ohio's mix of rural white, urban black, and middle-class voters hit by the decline in manufacturing jobs, make it a test for either party; every candidate the state has backed in presidential elections since 1964 has gone on to the White House. Ohio is historically divided between a conservative south, which was settled by Virginians, and the more progressive north, settled by anti-slavery New Englanders. No Republican has ever become president without taking Ohio.Daniel Nasaw